European Union candidate states
EU candidate states shown in cyan.
EU candidate states shown in cyan.
Demonym(s)
Candidate states
Area
• Total
1,617,711 km2 (624,602 sq mi)
The front cover of a contemporary Montenegrin  biometric passport.

Since the 1980s, member states of the European Union have started to harmonise aspects of the designs of their ordinary passports (but not other types of passports, such as diplomatic, service and emergency passports), as well as common security features and biometrics.

Most passports issued by EU member states have the common recommended layout; burgundy in colour with the words "European Union" accompanied by the name of the issuing member state printed on the cover.[1]

Characteristics

Overall format

  • Paper size B7 (ISO/IEC 7810 ID-3, 88 mm × 125 mm)
  • 32 pages (passports with more pages can be issued to frequent travellers)
  • Colour of cover: burgundy red or blue

Cover

Information on the cover, in this order, in the language(s) of the issuing state:

  • Name of the issuing state
  • Emblem of the state
  • The word "PASSPORT"
  • The biometric passport symbol:

First page

Information on the first page, in one or more of the languages:

  • Name of the issuing state
  • The word "PASSPORT"
  • Serial number (may also be repeated on the other pages)

Identification page

Information on the (possibly laminated) identification page, in the languages of the issuing state plus English and French:

1. Surname 2. Forename(s)
3. Nationality 4. Date of birth
5. Sex 6. Place of birth
7. Date of issue     8. Date of expiry
9. Authority 10. Signature of holder

Following page

Optional information on the following page:

11. Residence 12. Height
13. Colour of eyes     14. Extension of the passport
15. Name at birth (if now using married name or have legally changed names)

Remaining pages

  • The following page is reserved for:
    • Details concerning the spouse of the holder of the passport (where a family passport is issued)
    • Details concerning children accompanying the holder (name, first name, date of birth, sex)
    • Photographs of the faces of spouse and children
  • The following page is reserved for use by the issuing authorities
  • The remaining pages are reserved for visa
  • The inside back cover is reserved for additional information or recommendations by the issuing state in its own official language(s)

Overview of passports issued by the EU candidate states

Candidate state Passport cover Visa requirements Cost Validity Issuing authority Latest version
Albania Albania

  • 5 or 10 years
 Ministry of the Interior 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina

1 October 2014
Georgia (country) Georgia
  • 18 (or older): 150 ₾
  • Child (under 18): 75 ₾
  • Adult : 10 years
  • Child : 3 years
 Ministry of Justice 10 April

2010

Moldova Moldova

  • 10 years (aged 16 or older)[3]
  • 7 years (aged at least 7 and under 16)
  • 4 years (under the age of 7 years)
 Public Services Agency[4] 5 April 2023
Montenegro Montenegro

  • €40
  • 10 years
 Ministry of the Interior[5] 2008
North Macedonia North Macedonia

  • 1800 MKD older than 27
  • 1700 MKD ages 4 – 27
  • 1600 MKD ages 0 – 4
  • 5 or 10 years (aged 27 and older)
 Ministry of the Interior[6] 2019
Serbia Serbia

  • 3600 RSD
  • 4200 RSD (if applying for replacement of a damaged passport earlier than 7 months before expiration date)[7]
  • 10 years
 Ministry of the Interior[8] 13 May 2016
Turkey Turkey

  • link = Turkish lira sign2429.30 (~ €75) for 6 months
  • link = Turkish lira sign3186.60 (~ €98) for 1 year
  • link = Turkish lira sign4702.60 (~ €145) for 2 years
  • link = Turkish lira sign6348.30 (~ €195) for 3 years
  • link = Turkish lira sign8623(~ €265) for 4–10 years
  • 6 months
  • 1 year
  • 2 years
  • 3 years
  • 4–10 years
 Ministry of the Interior[9] 25 August 2022
Ukraine Ukraine

  • Free (For citizens who have reached the age of 14 and are issuing a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for the first time)
  • ₴450 (~ €11) within 20 working days
  • ₴820 (~ €21) within 10 working days
  • 4 years
  • 10 years
 State Migration Service of Ukraine 1 january 2016

Visa requirements for the nationals of EU candidate states for travel to the EEA, United States and Canada

Nationals of the candidate countries have varying visa arrangements with the Schengen Area and the Common Travel Area members, as well as with the United States and Canada. The following table details the requirements:

State Current candidate
status		 Schengen Area
Annex II[10]		 Common Travel Area[11]
UK and Ireland		 USA – ESTA[12] Canada
 Albania[13] Negotiating 90 days
per 180 days[10]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED
 Bosnia and Herzegovina[14] Negotiating 90 days
per 180 days[10]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED
Georgia (country) Georgia Not negotiating yet 90 days
per 180 days[10]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED
 Moldova[15] Negotiating 90 days
per 180 days[10]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED
 Montenegro[16] Negotiating 90 days
per 180 days[10]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED
 North Macedonia[17] Negotiating 90 days
per 180 days[10]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED
 Serbia[18] Negotiating 90 days
per 180 days[10]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED
 Turkey[19] Negotiating road map
country		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 road map
country		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED
 Ukraine[20] Negotiating 90 days
per 180 days[10]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED[lower-alpha 1]		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED		 PRE-ARRIVAL
VISA REQUIRED

Current EU enlargement agenda

  Member states
  Recognised by the EU as potential candidates which have applied for membership: Kosovo (status disputed).[22]

The enlargement of the European Union involves the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community (the EU's predecessor) in 1952. Since then, the EU's membership has grown to twenty-seven with the most recent expansion to Croatia in 2013 and the departure of UK in 2020.

Currently, accession negotiations are under way with several states. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. This term is also used to refer to the intensification of co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws.

To join the European Union, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria (after the Copenhagen summit in June 1993), which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law, and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement.

The present enlargement agenda of the European Union regards Ukraine, the Western Balkans and potentially Turkey, which has a long-standing application with the EU. As for the Western Balkan states, the EU had pledged to include them after their civil wars: in fact, two states have entered, three are candidates, one applied and the others have pre-accession agreements.

There are however other states in Europe which either seek membership or could potentially apply if their present foreign policy changes, or the EU gives a signal that they might now be included on the enlargement agenda. However, these are not formally part of the current agenda, which is already delayed due to bilateral disputes in the Balkans and difficulty in fully implementing the acquis communautaire (the accepted body of EU law).

Today the accession process follows a series of formal steps, from a pre-accession agreement to the ratification of the final accession treaty. These steps are primarily presided over by the European Commission (Enlargement Commissioner and DG Enlargement), but the actual negotiations are technically conducted between the Union's Member States and the candidate country.

Before a country applies for membership it typically signs an association agreement to help prepare the country for candidacy and eventual membership. Most countries do not meet the criteria to even begin negotiations before they apply, so they need many years to prepare for the process. An association agreement helps prepare for this first step.

In the case of the Western Balkans, a special process, the Stabilisation and Association Process exists to deal with the special circumstances there.

When a country formally applies for membership, the Council asks the commission to prepare an opinion on the country's readiness to begin negotiations. The council can then either accept or reject the commission's opinion (the council has only once rejected the commission's opinion when the latter advised against opening negotiations with Greece).[23]

If the council agrees to open negotiations the screening process then begins. The commission and candidate country examine its laws and those of the EU and determine what differences exist. The Council then recommends opening negotiations on "chapters" of law that it feels there is sufficient common ground to have constructive negotiations. Negotiations are typically a matter of the candidate country convincing the EU that its laws and administrative capacity are sufficient to execute European law, which can be implemented as seen fit by the member states. Often this will involve time-lines before the Acquis Communautaire (European regulations, directives and standards) has to be fully implemented.

State
 Status
 Association
Agreement		 Applied for
Membership		 Candidate
status		 Start of
negotiations		 Screening
completed		 Acquis Chapters
open/closed[24]
Albania Albania Negotiating 12 June 2006 (SAA) 28 April 2009 23 June 2014 19 July 2022 – –
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Negotiating 16 June 2008 (SAA) 15 February 2016 15 December 2022 – – –
Georgia (country) Georgia Candidate 1 July 2016 (AA) 3 March 2022 14 December 2023 – – –
Moldova Moldova Negotiating 27 June 2014 (AA) 3 March 2022 23 June 2022 14 December 2023 – –
Montenegro Montenegro Negotiating 15 October 2007 (SAA) 15 December 2008 17 December 2010 29 June 2012 27 June 2013 30/3 of 33
North Macedonia North Macedonia Negotiating 9 April 2001 (SAA) 22 March 2004 17 December 2005 19 July 2022 – –
Serbia Serbia Negotiating 29 April 2008 (SAA) 22 December 2009 1 March 2012 21 January 2014 21 January 2014 16/2 of 34
Turkey Turkey Negotiating 12 September 1963 (AA) 14 April 1987 12 December 1999 3 October 2005 13 October 2006 16/1 of 33
Ukraine Ukraine Negotiating 27 June 2014 (AA) 28 February 2022 23 June 2022 14 December 2023 – –

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Republic of Ireland lifted visa requirements for citizens of Ukraine in early 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Anonymous (6 December 2016). "Document security - Migration and Home Affairs - European Commission".
  2. ↑ "Putovnica / Pasoš - MUP". Mup.ks.gov.ba. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Eliberarea pașaportului cetățeanului Republicii Moldova (PA): Informații generale
  4. ↑ Eliberarea pașaportului cetățeanului Republicii Moldova (PA)
  5. ↑ "Izdavanje dokumenata". mup.gov.me. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 April 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Издавање на патна исправа
  7. ↑ "Putne isprave - Biometrijski pasoš". Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) ПУТНА ИСПРАВА – ПАСОШ
  9. ↑ "İçişleri Bakanlığı'nın görev ve yetkileri belirlendi". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Consolidated version of Council regulation No. 539/2001, as of 19 December 2009, 'Annex II' countries and territories
  11. ↑ "Visa policy of the United Kingdom#United Kingdom visa requirements",|United Kingdom visa requirements
  12. ↑ "ESTA Website". Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  13. ↑ Visa requirements for Albanian citizens
  14. ↑ Visa requirements for Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens
  15. ↑ Visa requirements for Moldovan citizens
  16. ↑ Visa requirements for Montenegrin citizens
  17. ↑ Visa requirements for citizens of North Macedonia
  18. ↑ Visa requirements for Serbian citizens
  19. ↑ Visa requirements for Turkish citizens
  20. ↑ Visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens
  21. ↑ "European Commission—Enlargement—Potential Candidates". Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  22. ↑ "European Commission—Enlargement—Potential Candidates". Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  23. ↑ Ena.lu
  24. ↑ Excluding Chapters 34 (Institutions) and 35 (Other Issues) since these are not legislation chapters.
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